Chris Granger / The Times-Picayune
If you’re the opportunistic sort, fun can be found anywhere. But there are a few special places where good times are in perpetual motion — and a city like New Orleans would undoubtedly make the top of such a list. After all, it takes a certain commitment to leisure to earn a nickname like the Big Easy.
As manager of the Loa bar at the International House Hotel , we’d call Alan Walter an expert in unwinding N’awlins-style. Walter’s cocktails are some of the city’s best, putting hyper-local ingredients like Louisiana citrus and Spanish moss to good and rather unique use.
When we requested a summer cocktail recipe, he offered up what he calls La La Louisiane — a riff on a classic creation from the restaurant of (almost) the same name, the venerable La Louisiane — describing it as the offspring of a Sazerac and a Manhattan. The original recipe calls for Benedictine and Herbsaint, but Walter found that a bit sweet, and so instead uses Cynar, an Italian amaro made with artichoke, and finishes it off with a hint of absinthe and his homemade chicory bitters.
A word of caution: since the cocktail is mostly straight booze, Walter advocates slow-sipping this drink, preferably later in the night.
La La Louisiane
3/4 oz. Rittenhouse rye whiskey
3/4 oz. Carpano Antica sweet vermouth
3/4 oz. Cynar
dash of absinthe
dash of chicory bitters*
ice
Combine all ingredients and stir vigorously. Strain into a glass, preferably a coupe or another antique-style glass. For the ultimate La La Lousiane experience, serve on a plate with a square of bittersweet chocolate.
*Old-fashioned aromatic bitters make for a good substitute. Walter is a fan of those made by German bitters company The Bitter Truth.
Loa Bar, 221 Camp Street, New Orleans
